The following is a simplified summary of the disclosure in order to provide a basic understanding of some of its aspects. This summary is not an extensive overview of the disclosure. It is intended to neither identify key or critical elements of the disclosure, nor delineate any scope of the particular implementations of the disclosure or any scope of the invention. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of the disclosure in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description presented later.
Table tennis (also known commercially as ping pong) finds its roots in 19th Century English aristocracy. It is the most popular racket sport in the world, with an estimated 300 million active players worldwide, 20 million of whom are in the United States. In a game of table tennis, players hit a small ball back and forth across a table that can vary in size, but is generally 9.0 feet long, 5.0 feet wide, and 2.5 feet in height. Players may use a laminated wooden racket (also known as a paddle or bat) to hit the ball over a net placed at the center of the table across the width. Points are awarded when the receiving player is unable to return the ball, when the ball is hit outside of the table area, or in other situations.
The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) is the worldwide governing body for the sport. Complete rules may be found at www.ittf.com. USA Table Tennis (USATT) is the governing body for the sport in the United States.
Participants in table tennis find that participating in the sport provides many benefits, including recreation, fitness, improved hand-eye coordination, cross-generational interaction, and intergenerational play.
As with many sports, competing at a high level may require the participant to develop certain skills, such as proper forehand and backhand form, ball control, grip, and stance. Developing these skills can take many years of practice.
Because many may view table tennis as a recreational pursuit, it may be impractical for a participant to devote the time necessary to advance to the next skill level. Players may not want to travel to their local table tennis facility for instruction.
Even where players participate in table tennis for its health and fitness benefits, the sport can be insufficiently vigorous for those participants seeking a greater fitness challenge.
Accordingly, there is a need for a system and method of participating in table tennis that enables participants to increase their skill level rapidly.
There is a further need for a form of table tennis that provides players with enhanced training in a comfortable and familiar environment.
There is also a need for a form of table tennis that provides increased fitness and health benefits, or enables players to maximize the available fitness and health benefits.